Lawsuit settled in Donora building collapse

The Donora Historical Society has settled a federal lawsuit filed by an insurance company seeking to recoup money it paid to one of its customers whose house was destroyed when the society’s building collapsed during a heavy snowfall.

The society and State Farm settled the case Thursday without disclosing the terms of the resolution in court, said Daniel Luccaro, a Philadelphia attorney representing the insurance company.

“Mutually, we agreed that we would share the terms,” Luccaro said.

The society’s members initially feared they might have to part with their museum’s artifacts to settle damages after their five-story brick headquarters at 970 McKean Ave. collapsed Feb. 6, 2010, under the weight of 2 feet of heavy, wet snow.

The collection had already been relocated and the building was vacant when it fell, destroying a house next door owned by Edward and Marian Bzulko.

State Farm sued to recover the $156,446 it paid to the Bulkos, claiming the society had neglected its building, which was once a Slovak Club. The borough had received several complaints about the building’s deteriorated condition prior to the snowstorm.

Luccaro said the museum collection has been spared, that the settlement involved the use of the society’s liability insurance.

The society’s attorney, Tom Burris of Pittsburgh, could not be reached for comment.

Scott Beveridge is a North Charleroi native who has lived most of his life in nearby Rostraver Township. He is a general assignments reporter focusing on investigative journalism and writing stories about the mid-Mon Valley. He has a bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master's from Duquesne University. Scott spent three weeks in Vietnam in 2004 as a foreign correspondent under an International Center for Journalists fellowship.